Toyota will begin sell plug-in Prius models starting in 2011

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Since the beginning of the green movement, a lot of people have been looking at hybrid vehicles as a way to help reduce environmental impact while driving on the roads. Problem is, the average price of hybrid cars have scared away most consumers from investing in them. Toyota sees that as an issue and is looking to help curb hybrid price shock by promising to sell affordable new plug-in hybrid vehicles to consumers, beginning next year.

One model they have in mind is a new Prius offering called the Prius PHV which will have an external charging option. In addition to the standard hybrid operation, the external charging option will allow owners to potentially increase the electric operating range of the vehicle.

Current specs have the Prius PHV able to drive 14.5 miles on the electric motor alone. So as long as your in-town destination had a place to plug-in, you could theoretically just keep driving on electricity without the gas motor turning-on. And even if you needed the gasoline motor for longer trips, a fully charged electric system gives the Prius PHV a range of 870 miles on a full tank of gas according to Toyota.

Official pricing for the Prius PHV has not been announced yet, but Toyota estimates it would be far cheaper than 3 million Yen (approximately $33,770). Currently the company has plans to lease the Prius PHV starting this month in France before expanding to other countries. Perhaps we will see the new Prius in sales lots beginning late next year.